Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Concan Cemetery is located about a mile northeast of the Frio River outside of the small community of Concan in Uvalde County. It is a fairly small cemetery but one of my childhood friends and several generations of his ancestors are buried there so we recently made a stop there as we were returning from a visit to Lost Maples Natural Area and Garner State Park.

AMANDAJONES

DIED

APRIL 8, 1915

AGE 78 YRS

At Rest

Amanda Jones is recorded in the 1910 census of Uvalde County as the wife of Montgomery W. Jones. She was born in 1837 in Alabama and had married Montgomery Jones in 1866.

WILLIAM H. ROBINSON

Pvt. Texas Frontier inIndian War

September 9, 1939

From information on the markers at his gravesite, William H. Robinson was a Texas Ranger during the indian wars on the Texas frontier. Census records list William H. Robinson as born in Texas in 1856, the son of Henry M. and Eva Robinson of South Carolina. It appears that he and his wife, Alice E. Smith, did not have children.

Monday, October 29, 2012

In communities with a large hispanic or Mexican population, El Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) is celebrated as it has been in Mexico since the time of the Aztecs. During this period, families usually clean and decorate the graves with offerings or ofrendas. The celebration continues over two days. November 1st is to honor children and infants and is referred to as Día de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) or Día de los Angelitos (Day of the Little Angels).

People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing the favorite foods and beverages as well as photos and memorabilia of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them.
Over the past weekend, the cemetery of Mission Park South has been filled with families meeting to clean and decorate graves.

See Wikipedia for more information on celebrations of El Día de los Muertos.